Kamome Shirahama
白浜 鴎
BornMay 7
Alma materTokyo University of the Arts
Notable workWitch Hat Atelier
Awards

Kamome Shirahama (白浜 鴎, Shirahama Kamome) is a Japanese freelance manga artist and illustrator. She is best known for her Witch Hat Atelier series. She has created variant covers and other illustrations for Marvel Comics, DC Comics, and stories in the Star Wars franchise. She did the character designs for The Elder, part of the Star Wars: Visions short film series released in 2021, and she wrote the 2022 manga adaptation for it.

She has won and been nominated for multiple awards, including the Eisner Award, the Harvey Award, the Kodansha Manga Award, the Manga Taishō, the Daruma d'or manga at the Japan Expo Awards, the Mangawa Award, and the Prix Babelio.

Biography

Shirahama was born on May 7.[1] She graduated from the design program at the Tokyo University of the Arts.[2] She works using analog tools such as pencils, pen and ink, and colored pencils rather than digital tools.[3] Influences on her work include The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter novels, which she read in junior high school,[4] as well as the Art Nouveau and Art Deco styles.[1] Her art style has multiple influences, including Alphonse Mucha, Mœbius, Hayao Miyazaki, and Moto Hagio.[1]

Her debut story was Watashi no Kuro-chan (わたしのクロちゃん), published by Enterbrain in Fellows! in 2011.[1] She made her multi-part story publishing debut with Eniale & Dewiela in Fellows! in 2012.[5] The series ran for two years, ending in July 2015, and was collected in three volumes released in June 2013, June 2014, and July 2015.[1] The series was translated into French and released by Pika Édition in 2019.[6]

She began doing variant covers and other illustration and concept work for Marvel Comics, DC Comics, and Star Wars comics in 2015 after her art was noticed at New York Comic Con, working on titles such as Star Wars: Doctor Aphra, Deadpool, and Batgirl and the Birds of Prey.[1][4] Witch Hat Atelier began serialization in Kodansha's Monthly Morning Two manga magazine in July 2016.[7] When the first collected volume was released in January 2017, the manga was so popular it became hard to find copies in stores.[5]

In June 2022, her Star Wars manga short work, The Elder, was published in Big Gangan.[8][9] She also did the character designs for the animated version of the story.[9]

Bibliography

Cover art

Reception

Jérôme Briot of Zoo magazine praised the "swirling graphics and rare elegance" in Eniale & Dewiela, citing Shirahama's artistic inspiration from Alphone Mucha-esque Art Nouveau style.[15] The French website, Manga-News, said the storyline of Eniale & Dewiela sometimes moved too quickly, jumping straight into the story without any setup. Because the individual stories in the series are fairly short, big ideas are often left unexplored. Despite these notes, Shirahama often surprised them with "a lot of imagination and crazy little ideas...surprises...[and] even a little emotion". The site praised her mixing and tweaking of various religious themes throughout the series, the chemistry between the two polar-opposite main characters, the quality of the artwork, and design and composition of the pages.[16][17][18]

James Davis Nicoll at Tor.com described Shirahama's artwork in the Witch Hat Atelier manga as "sumptuous" and "evocative", and gave her "high marks for plausible magic".[19] Rebecca Silverman at Anime News Network praised Shirahama's subtle characterization, stating that "all of the characters have layers to their personalities". She goes on to praise the "strong writing [that] is ably enhanced by truly beautiful artwork", stating that "you don't want to miss" it.[20]

Her work on Witch Hat Atelier was described as "breathtaking" by Kelly Chu, who compared it favorably with the Studio Ghibli film Spirited Away.[21] The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) of the American Library Association ranked Witch Hat Atelier as one of the "Top 10 Graphic Novels for Teens" in 2020 and 2021.[22][23] Her art was described by the French website, Manga-News, as "striking" and having an "extensive visual look", with "sharp shading imitating and engraving style".[1] As of October 2022, the manga series had over 4.5 million copies in circulation worldwide.[24][25]

Selected awards and honors

Shirahama has been nominated for and won multiple awards.

Year Organization Award title,
Category 		Work Result Refs
2018 Kodansha Kodansha Manga Award,
General 		Witch Hat Atelier Nominated [26]
Manga Barcelona Manga Barcelona Award,
Seinen 		Witch Hat Atelier Won [27]
Manga Taishō Executive Committee Manga Taishō Witch Hat Atelier Nominated [1][28]
2019 Angoulême International Comics Festival Best Youth Comic Witch Hat Atelier Nominated [29]
Japan Expo Japan Expo Awards,
Daruma d'or manga 		Witch Hat Atelier Won [30]
L'ange Bleu Mangawa Award,
Best Seinen Managa 		Witch Hat Atelier Won [1][31][32]
Ridibooks Ridibooks Comic Award,
Next Manga Award 		Witch Hat Atelier Won [33]
2020 Babelio Prix Babelio,
Manga 		Witch Hat Atelier Won [34]
Comic-Con International Eisner Award,
Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia 		Witch Hat Atelier Won [1][35]
Harvey Awards Nomination Committee Harvey Award,
Best Manga 		Witch Hat Atelier Won [1][36][37][38]
Kodansha Kodansha Manga Award,
General 		Witch Hat Atelier Nominated [39]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Dossier Divines - Eniale & Dewiela - Shirahama Kamome (page 2)" [Divines File - Eniale & Dewiela - Shirahama Kamome] (in French). July 2, 2021. Archived from the original on July 13, 2022. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  2. ^ 白浜鴎 [Kamome Shirahama] (in Japanese). Kodansha. Archived from the original on July 12, 2022. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  3. ^ 「とんがり帽子のアトリエ」特集 白浜鴎インタビュー [Interview with Witch Hat Atelier creator Kamome Shirahama (page 2)]. Natalie (in Japanese). May 23, 2019. Archived from the original on July 12, 2022. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  4. ^ a b 「とんがり帽子のアトリエ」特集 白浜鴎インタビュー [Interview with Witch Hat Atelier creator Kamome Shirahama (page 3)]. Natalie (in Japanese). May 23, 2019. Archived from the original on July 12, 2022. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  5. ^ a b c Shibahara (February 8, 2017). これはハリポタ以来のワクワク感かも！『とんがり帽子のアトリエ』が予想以上の売行で超品薄に [This might be the most exciting thing since Harry Potter! "Witch Hat Atelier" selling much better than expected, leading to shortages]. ほんのひきだし (in Japanese). Archived from the original on July 12, 2022. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  6. ^ "Dossier Divines - Eniale & Dewiela - Shirahama Kamome (page 1)" [Divines File - Eniale & Dewiela - Shirahama Kamome] (in French). July 2, 2021. Archived from the original on July 13, 2022. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  7. ^ TAGROの新作は江戸に生きる女武芸者の婿取り、白浜鴎もモーツーで新連載 [New works: Tagro's female warrior who is married off in the Edo period, Kamome Shirahama both begin serialization in Morning Two]. Natalie (in Japanese). July 22, 2016. Archived from the original on September 21, 2018. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
  8. ^ a b Peters, Megan (April 25, 2022). "Star Wars: Visions Manga Announced". ComicBook.com. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  9. ^ a b c 白浜鴎らが「スター・ウォーズ：ビジョンズ」をBGでマンガ化、「マンダロリアン」連載も [Kamome Shirahama and others making manga version of Star Wars: Visions, Mandalorian also being serialized]. Natalie. May 25, 2022. Archived from the original on July 12, 2022. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  10. ^ "I Am Gandhi by Brad Meltzer: 9780525552727 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books". PenguinRandomhouse.com. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
  11. ^ 【大好評につき再販決定!】とんがり帽子のアトリエ 複製原画集 ["Due to popular demand!" Atelier of Witch Hat Reproduction Selection] (in Japanese). Kodansha. November 2019. Archived from the original on July 12, 2022. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  12. ^ 「とんがり帽子のアトリエ」特集 白浜鴎インタビュー [Interview with Witch Hat Atelier creator Kamome Shirahama (page 1)]. Natalie (in Japanese). May 23, 2019. Archived from the original on July 12, 2022. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  13. ^ a b c d "Kamome Shirahama". DC Comics. May 16, 2016. Archived from the original on July 12, 2022. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  14. ^ a b "Kamome Shirahama: Comics". Marvel Comics. Archived from the original on July 12, 2022. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  15. ^ Briot, Jérôme (November–December 2019). "Les anges aussi s'habillent en Prada". Zoo (in French). 74: 38.
  16. ^ "Dossier Divines - Eniale & Dewiela - Shirahama Kamome (page 3)" [Divines File - Eniale & Dewiela - Shirahama Kamome] (in French). July 2, 2021. Archived from the original on July 13, 2022. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  17. ^ "Dossier Divines - Eniale & Dewiela - Shirahama Kamome (page 4)" [Divines File - Eniale & Dewiela - Shirahama Kamome] (in French). July 2, 2021. Archived from the original on July 13, 2022. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  18. ^ "Dossier Divines - Eniale & Dewiela - Shirahama Kamome (page 5)" [Divines File - Eniale & Dewiela - Shirahama Kamome] (in French). July 2, 2021. Archived from the original on July 13, 2022. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  19. ^ Nicoll, James Davis (June 10, 2022). "Magic, Manga, and Hard Fantasy: Witch Hat Atelier". Tor.com. Archived from the original on June 23, 2022. Retrieved July 1, 2022.
  20. ^ Silverman, Rebecca (June 26, 2020). "Witch Hat Atelier GN 1 & 2 - Review". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on June 29, 2020. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  21. ^ Chu, Kelly (August 24, 2018). "The Perfect Manga Matches for 10 Studio Ghibli Movies". Barnes & Noble. Archived from the original on June 25, 2020. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  22. ^ Hodgkins, Crystalyn (January 4, 2020). "Witch Hat Atelier Manga Ranks in YALSA's Top 10 Graphic Novels for Teens". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on February 27, 2020. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
  23. ^ Hazra, Adriana (January 11, 2021). "Blue Flag Manga Ranks in YALSA's Top 10 Graphic Novels for Teens". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on February 18, 2021. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
  24. ^ Cayanan, Joanna (October 4, 2022). "Kamome Shirahama's Witch Hat Atelier Manga Exceeds 4.5 Million Copies in Circulation". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on October 4, 2022. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
  25. ^ Mateo, Alex (April 5, 2022). "Witch Hat Atelier Manga Gets Anime". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on April 5, 2022. Retrieved July 1, 2022.
  26. ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (April 5, 2018). "42nd Annual Kodansha Manga Awards' Nominees Announced". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on November 9, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2022.
  27. ^ "Te presentamos a los Ganadores del Salón del Manga 2018". RTVE (in Spanish). November 2, 2018. Archived from the original on March 7, 2022. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
  28. ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (January 22, 2018). "11th Manga Taisho Awards Nominates 12 Titles". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on February 18, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2022.
  29. ^ Hodgkins, Crystalyn (January 3, 2019). "7 Manga Nominated for Angoulême's Top Prize". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on October 11, 2020. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
  30. ^ Contreras, Isabel (February 28, 2019). ""L'atelier des sorciers", Daruma d'or des Japan Expo Awards 2019". Livres Hebdo (in French). Archived from the original on May 6, 2021. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
  31. ^ "Mangawa : découvrez les lauréats 2019 de notre concours !" (in French). Grand Paris Seine et Oise. July 16, 2019. Archived from the original on March 22, 2022. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
  32. ^ "Lauréats – Prix Mangawa" (in French). Archived from the original on April 1, 2021. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
  33. ^ 2019 Ridibooks Comic Award 대상 발표 [2019 Ridibooks Comic Award nominees announcement]. Ridibooks Comic Award (in Korean). Archived from the original on December 5, 2021. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
  34. ^ Thomas, Vincy (June 18, 2020). "Les dix lauréats des Prix Babelio 2020". Livres Hebdo (in French). Archived from the original on February 12, 2022. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
  35. ^ Hodgkins, Crystalyn (July 24, 2020). "Cats of the Louvre, Witch Hat Atelier, Way of the Househusband Win Eisner Awards". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on July 25, 2020. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
  36. ^ Mateo, Alex (August 31, 2020). "Harvey Awards Nominates The Poe Clan, The Way of the Houseband, Witch Hat Atelier for Best Manga". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on September 1, 2020. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
  37. ^ McMillan, Graeme (October 5, 2020). "2020 Harvey Award Winners Revealed". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on August 31, 2020. Retrieved October 5, 2020.
  38. ^ Mateo, Alex (October 5, 2020). "Witch Hat Atelier Wins Best Manga at Harvey Awards". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on October 8, 2020. Retrieved October 6, 2020.
  39. ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (April 2, 2020). "44th Annual Kodansha Manga Awards' Nominees Announced". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on March 21, 2021. Retrieved July 1, 2022.

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